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Sunday, June 28, 2015

It is exciting times. While I have been busy living my RL, the boat builders in SL have been busy building new boats. A quick walk around at Tradewinds confirms this. There are at least four very different animals there. First there is the superfresh Volkboat; Here's a freshly squeezed lemon edition:

A freshly squeezed Volkboat, lemon edition

Right next to the Volkboat is the next delicious dish served from Craigs Kitchen. It is the Cirya; A beautifully crafted and well sailing classic with loads of details, - and... and quite possibly even with an interior. That's a new thing for Ktaba boats:

The beautiful Cirya from Craigs Kitchen

Right opposite the Cirya there's another new and very modern boat: The supercool RM 30 from ReneMarine. This is no oldtimer. Rather it is a supermodern cruiser with double rudders and an extreem torpedo keel; Sails like a dream, and there's the usual high quality interior of RM boats.

The supercool RM30. I want one for my RL holidays

And finally the Shields project. This was not on display, so I had to go and get me one. It's a - Oh I dunno what it is, but it looks great; Kinda like a cross between an Soling and Manuls Ten. Or sumding. In any case it's a yummy day cruiser, and I look forward to loads of easy cruising with her. Apparently she is raced quite actively too, so get one if u wanna race. The price cannot be beaten as she is free.Update: Thanx to ZZ I now know what a Shields is. It is an updated IOD mostly seen in the US. I certainly never saw a Shields in Europe. In case you dunno what an IOD is, here's a few links to IODs already found in SL: T-One, Ktaba 20 and the Bolero. ZZ was kind enough t o provide a link about the Shields in her comment. I'll repeat the link here. Thanx, again ZZ.

The yummy daycruiser, the Shields

On top of these four boats, I have at least 10 other boats waiting to be tested in my inventory. Gosh. It is almost stressing me out. Nah... just kidding. It's gonna be loads of fun. Just need to find some more playing time. Oh, well... and bad weather. Otherwise I'll be out playing with real boats, getting soaked in real waves. Till next time...

Friday, June 26, 2015

This is just a short notice on Folkboat sailing. It is amazing. Anas new Folkboat is fast reacting, very lively, not too easy but superfun to sail. On top of that she is also super pretty, but that's beside the point. It's the sailing that makes this boat stand out from the crowd.

Folkboat sailing is super fun

Ahh, isn't that where we all wanna go? Sandy beaches, palms and temperatures that require only a tiny bikini to stay hot... And now you can go there in a truely lifelike Folkboat! No, I am not being paid to write this. Get your hands on a Folkboat and try it out for yourself...

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Sadly, I don't have much time for virtual sailing these days. However, there's no regrets as first life sailing takes precedence. Still... there are things in SL worth noticing. One of these things is Anas latest... the Folkboat. It seems to be called Folkboat out there in the english speaking parts of the world. The danish name really is the same as VolksWagon where wagon replaced with boat, so I tend to call it the Volksboat... not that it is a german boat in any way...

Anas Folkboat

Here it is. She is very pretty and very true to the original RL version. This is here is me and Ana having a boat talk a few days before the launch. It's Anas feet sticking up.

Details

There are loads of details. At a certain point we may have been concerned about the mesh-graphics, but now... There's no way we'd do without it. It has enabled Ana, Dutch, Rene, Craig, Qyv, Trudeau, Nomad, Burt, Victor and all the other boatbuilders to take their boats to another level of realism. At least on the visual side.

Instruments too

See! I can't remember ever seeing such a vast array of screens in a Folkboat cockpit. Ever. But never mind. The sailing is so interesting and challenging you won't have time to read those numbers anyway. A glance from time to time? Maybe...

Ana explaining bits and pieces

What does that mean? I thought the Folkboat was easy to sail. Well, it is... sort of. It is just that Ana wanted something new, extraordinary and quite lifelike - as in RL like, so she kinda changed the way things work a bit. It is more RL and less SL like... you see, the two sails will need to be trimmed separately, whereas most SL boats do trim all sails as one. This is far more involving than you'd think, and I'll get back to that when I find a rainy day to go virtual sailing.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

I saw an amazing yacht in Copenhagen - just opposite of the Operahouse. Didn't have time to go over there and check it out, but... social medias confirmed it was the Cinderella IV.

Here's a few details. Ahh. Just what we need this summer. Retrofitted with a fireplace. Obviously. That category of boat is rarely seen in Copenhagen waters. That goes for the virtual waters of SL too. So, boat builders of SL, - here's a bit of inspiration.

Too much leisure boat? Not hard core enough for ya? Never mind the VO65s. They may "rock", but try this: LaSolitaire. That's for hard core sailing geeks!

Monday, June 1, 2015

After the coldest may I have ever experienced... Please, dear powers that may be: Turn up the heat. I really need some genuine sunny sailing weather. Kinda like this:

Of course the virtual sun is always shining, - provided I click the right buttons. I can almost - almost - find a spot in SL that looks and sounds kinda like this utube thing. But I cannot feel the waves and the wind, and the sound just never get as diverse. It just isn't enough in the long run.

Provence

Nah. Nothing beats real wind, real salt stains and real waves... Sometimes I am thinking, why am I not living in Provence? Lavendar, Moules mariniéres, Pastis, la mer et la soleil. Oh and that very special rose wine they make there... accompanied by a salad chevre chaud... Add to that skiing withing a two hour drive. I am not meant to be in this cold viking land.